Understanding Google’s Num 100 update and what it means for SEO reporting and news website traffic

When Google quietly removed the “&num=100” parameter from its search URLs, it looked like a small technical adjustment. Yet within days, SEO professionals and news publishers saw their rank trackers and keyword visibility reports go haywire. The change has not altered how Google ranks content, but it has dramatically affected how those rankings are reported and analysed.

What Exactly Changed

For years, adding “&num=100” at the end of a Google search URL allowed users and SEO tools to display up to 100 results on a single page. It was never officially documented by Google, but it became a widely used shortcut for crawling search engine results pages (SERPs) efficiently.

From mid-September 2025, Google quietly disabled this feature, limiting the number of results that can be retrieved at once. Tools that relied on this method now need to load multiple pages to collect the same data, which increases time, cost and, for many, confusion.

Why It Matters to SEO Reporting

The removal of “&num=100” has not changed actual search rankings or how Google’s algorithm evaluates content. Instead, it has changed how SEO tools see those results. Rank trackers that previously gathered 100 results in one go now only collect data from a smaller subset of results. The immediate effect is a visible drop in reported keyword counts and search visibility metrics.

Many publishers, seeing sudden dips in visibility graphs, initially feared ranking losses. However, this is more a measurement issue than a traffic or ranking problem. If data in Google Search Console and Google Analytics remains stable, it means your real-world performance has not declined.

Implications for News Websites

1. Decline in reported keywords

SEO dashboards that used to show hundreds of ranking keywords per article may now display far fewer. This does not necessarily mean a loss in search reach. The long-tail keywords that appear on deeper pages are simply no longer captured in the same way.

2. Confusing visibility reports

Publishers may see volatility in keyword visibility charts from third-party platforms. This is not reflective of audience behaviour but rather of a change in how data is collected.

3. Increased costs for SEO tools

Because scraping data now requires multiple page loads per query, tools are likely to incur higher operational costs. Some vendors have already warned users of pricing adjustments or reduced data frequency.

4. A reset for SEO strategy

The update is a useful reminder that not all metrics carry equal weight. For editorial teams, measuring impressions, clicks, engagement and conversions is far more valuable than tracking raw keyword volumes.

How Newsrooms Can Adapt

Rely on first-party data: Use Google Search Console as your primary source of truth. It reflects real user impressions and clicks rather than scraped estimates.

Explain the context: When presenting reports internally, clarify that any drop in keyword counts or visibility stems from the change in data collection, not a fall in actual rankings.

Refine performance KPIs: Focus on metrics that show meaningful audience behaviour, such as session length, repeat visits, article engagement and subscription conversions.

Collaborate with SEO vendors: Ask your analytics partners how they have adapted to the change and whether their reporting logic has been updated.

The Bigger Picture

Google’s decision to retire “&num=100” is part of its broader effort to limit large-scale scraping and tighten control over how search data is accessed. While this makes life harder for SEO tool developers, it also pushes the industry towards cleaner, user-centric measurement. For news organisations, this is a moment to rethink what really defines success in search, not the number of keywords a crawler can detect, but the actual attention and trust of readers.

The “Num 100” update is not a ranking crisis but a reporting correction. Publishers who understand this distinction can move past the panic and focus on what truly matters: maintaining high-quality journalism that continues to perform organically, regardless of how the tools visualise it.